Domestication
by XxTwistedThornxX
Summary: Rose later admitted sheepishly that she'd been too awestruck to remember the vast majority of the 23 rules he'd prattled out to her. But, Rose remembered rule 13 of traveling with the Doctor. Always expect the unexpected. When the TARDIS breaks down, Rose and the Doctor must face their toughest challenge yet: Domestic living.
1. Chapter 1

**Back with more Doctor Who! Haven't had much inspiration for my other stories (RL is a horrible fothermucker sometimes!) but this idea won't leave me alone. Thanks to everyone that's read my other Doctor Who works (and other fics) and left their reviews!**

When Rose had taken her first steps into the TARDIS—filled with giddy anticipation and a hint of apprehension—the Doctor had made a point to explain a long and colorful list of rules that she was expected to follow.

"Never wander off," The Doctor warned, pulling a lever and twisting a few knobs on the control panel. He seemed to dance around the console and, while his tone was light-hearted, his eyes were cold and serious. "That's rule number one! Rule number two, no changing fixed events in time. It won't end pretty, so just don't do it. Third, no—and I mean absolutely _no_—backseat driving!"

Rose later admitted sheepishly that she'd been too awestruck to remember the vast majority of the 23 rules he'd prattled out to her. But, as she recalled the way the TARDIS quaked violently, with an alarm blaring in her ears and the Doctor frantically trying to stabilize their flight pattern, Rose remembered rule 13 of traveling with the Doctor.

Always expect the unexpected.

Rose groaned and ran her hands through her hair. Her shoulders slumped and her elbows rested on the table as she tried to block out the sound of the two most important people in her life bicker like an old married couple.

"Told me you'd keep her safe, you did! And what happens?" Jackie Tyler screeched.

"Rose _is_ safe!" The Doctor defended, wincing as the middle-aged woman's voice raised another octave.

"Not in that rubbish bin you call a ship! What if you hadn't made it out in time?"

"The fires only burned for 45 minutes," Was his grumble of a reply, but Rose noticed the Doctor spare her an appraising glance, as though to be sure she really _hadn't_ been harmed. Aside from a small scrape over her eyebrow, she was fine, and she gave the Time Lord a weak but reassuring smile. The Doctor visibly relaxed until Jackie smacked him upside the head.

"Oi!"

"Don't you 'Oi' me," Mama Tyler scowled.

"Mum, really!" Rose decided to cut in before this got any worse. "It's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine!"

Jackie gave another scathing glance at the Doctor and sat at the table with a huff. The Doctor rubbed his head with a frown and met Jackie "The Jackal" Tyler's glare with one of his own. The air was thick with animosity and Rose wanted nothing more than to just curl up in the TARDIS and fly away to Craxtaphalon 6 or whatever crazy place the Doctor could take her. From the puss on his face, the Doctor was thinking the same.

"How long until the TARDIS can fly again?" Rose asked, not really caring if her desperation sounded in her voice. The Doctor crossed his arms across his chest, the leather of his jacket creaking with the movement. He leaned back in his chair, the front two legs lifting off the linoleum floor as he reclined.

"She's still got to repair herself," His brow furrowed, obviously not pleased by what he was about to say. "Her core is drained, it'll take hours—maybe days—for her to recharge. No other repairs can take place until that happens and she won't let anyone in. Not even me."

"Can't say I blame her," Jackie muttered. When both the Doctor and Rose narrowed their eyes, she sighed, stood, and turned to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

"Well, at least we landed present day," Rose tried to be optimistic. "We can stay here until we're ready to leave."

"I was ready to leave the moment I caught a glimpse of the Powell estate," The Doctor admitted, but his lips curled into a slight smirk and Rose rolled her eyes.

"You're only half-joking." She accused.

"I never do anything half-way, Rose Tyler!" He landed all four legs of his chair on solid ground, all playful banter gone with one final smile melting into a grimace. "I don't fancy staying with your mother while we're grounded."

Rose shifted in her seat and nodded her understanding.

"Just for a bit?"

"Do we really have much choice?" The Doctor sighed. He and Rose looked out the window forlornly, staring at the blue police box resting on the side of the street.

"Days. Just for the core to recharge," Rose repeated distantly.

"Maybe a week for the actual repairs to be done," The Doctor added reluctantly.

"A whole week of..."

"Seven days of…"

"Domestic." They droned simultaneously. Jackie had chosen that point to return from the kitchen with tea and stared at the odd couple sitting at her kitchen table. She shook her head and placed a cuppa in front of her daughter and "guest".

"You're both nutters, you are."

* * *

Rose groaned and mushed her face into a soft pillow, shielding her eyes from the offending sunlight pouring in through her window. When that did little to help, she sighed and kicked the sheets off of her, squinting at the alarm clock on her nightstand. 7:02 a.m.

The blonde sighed and forced herself out of her bed. Truth be told, she had missed it, and if she could sleep the next week away she would. But, the thought of leaving the Doctor and her mother alone was enough to spur her forward. She grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them over her hips, not bothering to change out of the t-shirt she'd worn to bed unless they actually planned on going out.

The rest of the flat was quiet, which meant Jackie was still asleep. That woman could sleep all day, Rose thought fondly. All the better, Rose didn't want to think of what it'd be like to wake up to the Doctor and her mother snapping at each other.

Rose padded into the living room and couldn't stop the grin from splitting her face in two. The Doctor was sprawled along the length of the sofa, one lanky leg hanging off the edge while the other dangled off to the side. His feet were bare, his boots and socks were kicked under the coffee table, and his toes flexed and curled as he slept. His jacket was pulled over his face, one arm folded over where his eyes would be, his other stretched above his head. His maroon jumper was pulled up, revealing a glimpse of his abdomen and belly button. The grey, wool blanket he'd been given was tangled around him like an anaconda. It wrapped through his legs, under his back, and across his chest, as though he'd tossed and turned all night as he tried to get comfortable.

Rose didn't doubt that he'd failed in that endeavor.

She debated with herself if she should wake him and move him into her bedroom so he could at least have a few decent hours of sleep, but thought better of it. The few times that the Doctor had actually slept around her, he'd proved himself anything but a morning person. He especially didn't like being woken up for anything short of the planet exploding—and even then it'd better be within the next thirty seconds.

Rose crept quietly into the kitchen and put the kettle on for morning tea. She pulled the curtains open and stared out into London, running her fingers through her tangled hair to work some small knots out. It all seemed so small and crowded and Rose laughed at how much her perception of her world changed since she started travelling with the Doctor. Everything just seemed so…tiny.

She rested her weight on the counter, gripping the edges with anxious hands. Her chest was tight and her throat was dry. Her breath came in shallow gasps and she realized she was suffocating. She was trapped, trapped in a world that had always been hers and yet had nothing that she'd want to claim.

What if the TARDIS couldn't be repaired? What if she and the Doctor were trapped on Earth until the ground swallowed them whole? She couldn't give up those innumerable stars that she'd only scratched the surface of. It would kill her and she could only imagine how the Doctor must be feeling.

Warmth encased her hands and caressed her back. The Doctor's hands covered hers on the counter and his hard chest was pressed against her back, he rested his chin on her shoulder and followed her eyes out the window, searching the cloudy sky for answers to his own questions.

The stood like that in companionable silence, neither needing words to express the thoughts racing through their minds.

Rose maneuvered her hand to intertwine her fingers with his.

_I'm worried._

The Doctor squeezed her hands reassuringly.

_Me too._

Rose gave the newly awakened Doctor a soft smile.

_But everything will work out._

His lips quirked upwards briefly and he pressed his lips to her hair.

_Just like they always do._

"G'morning," Rose said softly, so as not to wake her mother in the bedroom. "Tea?"

"Kettle's not gone off yet," The Doctor pointed out, his hands tightening around hers for just a moment. Rose sighed contentedly and leaned into the Time Lord's heat, returning her stare out the window.

"Six days…" She murmured.

"Six days."

"Sleep well?"

The Doctor frowned.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think the 'sofa' was an early-era torture device," to prove his point, the Doctor straightened and his spine popped loudly. Rose winced.

"Sorry."

The Doctor shrugged, his steel-blue eyes distant.

"It's a different feeling when we can't just up and leave like we usually do," Rose sighed, deciding to just throw their shared displeasure out into the open.

"We'll hop from planet to planet afterwards to make up for it," The Doctor promised, a grin revealing his white, blunt, humanesque teeth to her. His mirth was contagious and Rose mimicked the smile and nodded.

"Only six more days," She said, trying to put a positive spin on it.

"Six more days," the Doctor agreed with a cheeky smirk. "Then I can spread the tale of how we've bested the most ferocious creature in the universe and lived to tell about it."

"What's that?" Rose asked, arching a dark eyebrow.

"The Jacqueline Tyler."

Rose laughed and moved to take the whistling kettle off the stove top.

Maybe temporary domesticity wouldn't be as bad as she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**About halfway through this Nine's personality ended up morphing into Ten. (It's fun to have to go back and rewrite half an entire chapter! No, really! I recommend it! Totally **_**not**_** dripping with sarcasm right now.) But I think I cleaned it up alright.**

**At any rate, thank you so much favorite-ers, followers, and reviewers! I hope this story continues to please! Also, if anyone has any ideas feel free to leave them in a review or a message. It's surprisingly difficult to come up with domestic challenges for these two.**

The Doctor wasn't sure he'd seen so many humans packed into one place—at least when there wasn't some form of celebration involved. The supermarket was busier than a Barcelonian trade centre, and it was _noisy_. Even as he tried to ignore the maddening elevator music playing over the speakers, beeps from the checkout lanes and chattering from other patrons were swarming like wasps in his ears.

Rose leaned against the trolley as they walked, reading the list her mother had scribbled for them and muttering to herself. The Doctor trudged alongside her. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were bored. He considered mentally listing all 4,972 elements on the Tchezkiah table to pass the time, but that wasn't nearly an enough challenge for his under-stimulated brain. It was too tight to think in this horrible place anyway. The aisles were narrow and confining and he half expected them to begin closing in on him at any moment. People pushed past them, bumping and brushing by with muttered excuses and apologies as they attempted to retrieve their items and continue on their way.

The Doctor barely evaded a rambunctious child darting through a gap in the sea of customers. Rose grabbed the Doctor by the arm and helped steady him as the small boy rushed by, and the Doctor saw her bite her lips to keep her amused smirk at bay.

"Fantastic," he growled and straightened himself. The Doctor watched the small ape hold a bag of sweets up to his mum pleadingly, only to have his hopes dashed with a negative shake of the woman's head. The child put the candies on the shelf and followed his mother dejectedly, though he perked up when she plopped a colorful looking box with a crazed rabbit illustrated on the face into the

cart. The Doctor shook his head.

Humans were such fickle creatures.

"Won't be too long," Rose promised him, grabbing a bag of crisps that most definitely was _not_ on the list. The Doctor only hummed his response, his eyes locked on the golden-haired human.

She was the most fickle of all, he knew. He thought of Mickey—only briefly, as it was never a pleasant subject—and how Rose had gone through hell to save him only to drop him for some man she didn't even know with a goodbye kiss and no second glance. Even if that man _was_ a superior being with a TARDIS, the Doctor could only imagine the blow the boy must have taken to his ego.

Afterwards, there had been Adam the genius, Rob from Saturn, and Kowwrcx'laptcm from New Detroit (which the Doctor admitted was just like Rose's present-day Detroit but with less aliens). He didn't remember the names of most of the others. Each boy—because _they _weren't men, the Doctor affirmed—was like a slap to his face. For a while, the Doctor wondered if he were only leading her around the universe so she could get dates.

"Oh, never mind the billions and trillions of planets out there," He had snapped after the sixth—or was it seventh?—_invader_. "When there are so many pretty boys, why should we waste time looking at sun glaciers?"

"I don't see what the big deal is!" Rose had spit right back, though her eyes had lit up at the mention of "sun glaciers". Her ferocity was always something the Doctor admired about her. Even with his hearts heavy as lead in his chest, he took time to analyze the different shades of red her cheeks turned as they argued and mentally measured the lines and creases that appears on her face when she scowled.

"I almost feel bad for the next one," He'd told her, keeping his voice nonchalant in the way he _knew_ would just add fuel to her fire. "That last bloke looked close to tears, after all."

"Why do you even care? _You're_ the one I come home to, aren't you?"

For some reason, the Doctor had taken more than what he was sure was the intended context. Her words made him—_him!—_speechless, or more accurately, just the one. He was the one she came home to.

_Home._

Rose had watched him for a good hard moment after speaking, waiting for him to do or say something, but he had no idea what. Eventually she had simply stormed off to her room and left him there to ponder.

After the argument had come Satellite 5, the Daleks, and the _Bad Wolf_. It had all happened in a blur but he could remember flashes if he concentrated. A sinking feeling of acceptance as he watched his TARDIS disappear…the horror that gripped his hearts as it rematerialized…the longing at the thought of seeing her one last time. He remembered the glow of the time vortex surrounding his Rose (because at that moment, on the brink of death, he decided that she was—and always had been—_his _Rose). He remembered a kiss, a sweet catharsis that he had denied himself for far too long. He remembered his body breaking down, each painful eruption as his cells imploded on themselves and he prepared to become a new man.

There had been singing, as well. A song he knew from a time too old to ever be forgotten. The pain stopped, the change stopped. One final burst of the Bad Wolf's power gifting him with life and returning his Rose to her previous, and wonderfully human, state.

There had been no more pretty boys after that. Instead, the two of them made every effort to make up for lost time, as though they didn't have all the time in the world at their fingertips.

"Rose Tyler to the Doctor! Do you read me, Doctor?" Rose called with a cheeky smile. The Doctor blinked several times before focusing on her.

"What was that?"

"You were staring," she accused, but the smile never left her lips. The Doctor huffed and rolled his shoulders indignantly, as though it made him stand straighter and taller.

"I was not. I was thinking." It was a solid defense, he thought, but the knowing spark in Rose's hazel eyes called him out. "Not about you! The world doesn't revolve around you."

"No. If I'm remembering right, you told me it revolves around you." Rose grinned and bumped her hip playfully against the Doctor's.

"You actually eat this?" The Doctor asked, snatching a package of cereal from the trolley and masterfully changing the subject. "Most of these ingredients could kill a full-grown Krocofranticalian!"

Rose arched a brow at him, his maneuver not as smooth as he would have liked, but she took the bait at the mention of an alien. Sometimes she made it much too easy.

"Well, it's a good thing we're not Crocofanny…Croco…"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and helped her sound the word out.

"Krah-koh-fran-tee-cay-liahn."

"Krocofranticalian," Rose repeated proudly. She grinned up at the Doctor and lightly bumped her hip against his when she saw him smile. "So where're they from? Some moon out in the middle of the Aries system?"

"Last I saw one was in India, actually," The Doctor replied casually before he grinned down at her. "But you were close, Atrium Theta cluster, well done!"

"I learned from the best."

They weren't moving anymore, the Doctor noticed. He and Rose stood in a line of humans at the checkout and a wave of relief washed through him at the thought of leaving the smaller-on-the-inside supermarket.

Rose's hand slipped into his, intertwining their fingers as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and she eyed the candy rack greedily. The Doctor didn't bother to hide his amused smirk as Rose grabbed a few candy bars and tossed them in with the rest of their shopping.

"Mum's paying." She justified.

"Well in that case, better take the entire shelf's worth!"

Rose laughed lightly and the two of them began emptying their trolley onto the conveyor belt. Rose handed him a carton of eggs and gasped.

"I forgot something, I'll be right back." Rose pulled away from the Doctor and hurried off into the throng of other shoppers.

"Forgot something? But…!" The Doctor called after her, but she had already disappeared down an aisle. He hoped she would return quickly as he didn't fancy the idea of having to deal with the cashier. Making "small talk" and dealing with filthy ape money was not on his "Things to do before I die—again" list.

An older woman sidled up behind him, pushing her cart with shaking hands and wobbling legs. Her thin white hair was curled in tight ringlets at the top of her head. Her clothes looked as though they belonged draped over a window to keep the sun out. She gave him a hard stare behind her coke-bottle glasses, or maybe she was just squinting like that because he couldn't see well in her old age. Humans were so fragile.

The Doctor gave her an awkward smile, unable to think of anything else to do when an elderly ape was staring at him. Unfortunately, the woman took his attempted propriety as an invitation.

"You look just like my Gregory." She mused in a gravelly voice that only age could bring. The Doctor's eyes darted from side to side before resting on the woman again.

"Thank you?"

"He's such a nice lad, always there when I need help around the house. He's very handy with a screwdriver."

"So am I." The Doctor replied smugly, but he still searched for Rose with anxious eyes. The cashier began to scan Rose's shopping and the Doctor tensed. What exactly was he meant to do now?

"He's getting married this winter. Such a sweet, pretty, little thing."

The Doctor gave the woman a tense smile, hummed in mock interest and turned. He pushed the trolley forward and decided to watch the cashier ring him up. It was a young man, a teenager. His shaggy auburn hair was in his eyes and the Doctor briefly wondered if the boy could even _see_ under that mop.

At least he wasn't trying to talk to him. The woman, on the other hand, continued to ramble on. The Doctor watched the conveyor belt inch forward and fingered the sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket.

_Just need it to move a bit faster._

"I'm back!" Rose announced and placed one final item on the belt. "I forgot the most important thing."

"Don't ever leave me along like that again," The Doctor sighed but flashed Rose a relieved grin, removing his hand from his pocket. He glanced at Rose's cargo and his eyes lit up instantly. "Oh! Bananas!"

Rose giggled and linked her arm in his, questioning his fascination with the fruit. The Doctor seemed shocked that she would ask and promptly began to lecture her on all the wonders and benefits of potassium as their purchases were bagged and relinquished for the couple to carry on the walk home.

Rose reluctantly pulled her arm from the Doctor's and they each took two filled bags in their arms. The Doctor's attitude had brightened considerably since this morning; the tender moment they'd shared had been quickly dampened by the awakening of Rose's mother. It was good to see him smiling again.

They walked down the sidewalk, their conversation jumping from recollections of past adventures to where they would be headed next, and back again. It wasn't until they walked by the stationary police box that their voices died down and a cloud of melancholy smothered them in an unwanted embrace.

"Too bad we couldn't have landed in Cardiff. The rift energy there would've had us on our way." The Doctor tried the door but it wouldn't budge. "Oh well!" He tried to keep his tone light, but Rose saw the Doctor's lips tighten into a thin line.

She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, watching the TARDIS as though it might give a whir and open its doors for them. She had no such luck.

"Come on, let's head up."

The Doctor reluctantly followed Rose back up to the flat, sparing one lingering look for his beloved time machine.

* * *

Rose stared up at her ceiling and sighed. She didn't know how long she had been lying in bed, but sleep refused to come to her. Her stomach was twisted in knots and she rubbed the heel of her hands against her eyes. The day had been pleasant enough when it was just her and the Doctor, but as soon as they had returned to the flat with the shopping all Hell had broken loose.

Jackie had a remark for anything and everything the Doctor said. It had been fairly obvious that he chose to keep conversation to a minimum in the woman's presence. But if he wasn't speaking Jackie claimed he wasn't thankful for her hospitality, and if he was speaking he was putting on airs or talking down to her.

Rose loved her mum, but even she had to admit that Jackie was just trying to push the Doctor's buttons. Rose knew Jackie was uncomfortable with the thought of her daughter alone with a man that looked old enough to be her father. She knew Jackie was reacting in the only way she knew how. But she didn't understand—she couldn't understand—and so she was frightened.

Rose thought the Doctor must understand as well, as he had managed to bite his tongue against most of Jackie's scathing comments. She was proud of him, but she regretted that he had to be stuck in such an uncomfortable position.

With a shake of her head, Rose pushed herself out of bed. She clicked the light on and blinked at the sudden assault on her corneas. She opened her door as quietly as she could with the squeaky hinges and gently padded out to the living room.

The Doctor had forsaken the sofa. Instead, he lay on the floor with a pillow under his head and the blanket from last night across his waist. He glanced her way when she entered and gave her a soft wave of his fingers before closing his eyes.

Rose frowned and knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, you," she whispered. The Doctor opened his eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

"Where to?"

"The last thing we need is a Time Lord with an aching back. If the Slitheen try to invade again, the Earth would be doomed."

The Doctor exhaled a short laugh.

"I don't suppose they could hold off until I left the chiropractor?"

"No such luck, I'm afraid."

The Doctor groaned lightly and got to his feet, pulling the blanket and the pillow with him.

"Alright, Rose Tyler. Lead the way."

Rose took the pillow and blanket from him and set them on the sofa before she took his hand and led him back to her bedroom. Their relationship had long since rose a level above friendship. Hand holding, embraces, and all-too-brief kisses were regular occurrences in their lives, but they still retained separate bedrooms on the TARDIS and that didn't seem to be changing anytime soon. But the Doctor took her invitation in stride, as she knew he would, and followed her obediently.

"Very…pink." The Doctor noted with a smirk.

"Don't make me banish you back to the living room." Rose warned and climbed back into her bed. The Doctor took a step forward, but hesitated. It wasn't until Rose stared at him expectantly and smiled softly that he stripped off his jacket and joined her on the plush mattress.

The Doctor sighed in relief as Rose switched off her lamp. His muscles relaxed and he knew the ache would be gone come morning. Rose deliberated for a moment before resting her arm across the man's stomach.

She felt like a naughty teenager, sneaking her boyfriend in through the window after her mother was asleep. And while she really did have nothing but a good night's rest—for the both of them—on her mind, the idea of having the Doctor sleeping in the same bed with her sent a thrill through her veins.

The Doctor's thoughts were perhaps somewhere on the same wavelength. His arm snaked between her waist and the bed and pulled her closer, enough so he could dip his nose to her soft hair. His other arm rested over hers along his stomach and he was asleep in an instant.

Rose smiled gently and closed her eyes. As much as she longed to be back on the TARDIS, she admitted to herself that she was slightly glad the old girl had broken down. She never would have gotten the nerve to do this if it hadn't. For the first time, Rose wished that the sun would never rise. On the other hand, the sun couldn't rise soon enough. This pit-stop was all sorts of inconvenient.

But at least there weren't any aliens trying to kill them, this time.


End file.
